Not Dead Yet
by ShadowOfApate
Summary: Experimental Fic. Willow knew the consequences of taking Tara's mind back from Glory.


Title : Not Dead Yet  
Author : Tariq ( formerly Aeris Jade Orion )  
Rating : R  
Pairing : WR/TM  
Timeline : Season Six  
Summary : Willow knew the consequences of taking  
Tara's mind back from Glory.

Authors note: It's unbeta'd. At the moment I  
have no beta reader for this genre. So drop me  
a line if you're interested.

Second, due to health issues, and taking care  
of my disabled mom, I haven't been able to  
write much. But over the last several years  
I've managed to slowly write on a number  
of stories.

What I've decided to do is go ahead and  
publish what I've managed to put together.  
The stories are unfinished, and sometimes,  
the last chapter I worked on is unfinished.  
Plus, there maybe multiple chapters, each one a  
different version. Just warning everyone.

So I apologize in advance.

Disclaimer : Not mine. All characters belong  
to Joss Whedon.

00000  
Prologue  
00000

She breathed heavily against the wad of tissues  
pressed into her gushing nose. The white glob  
rapidly changing to red in her convulsing hand.

Her body shivered despite the California heat.  
The air making goosebumps under her warm flannel  
pajamas. Sweat soaked into the five quilts wrapped  
tightly around her thin body, saturating the  
useless blankets.

Willow groaned in the dim room. Her left leg  
throbbing in agony. Burning in hurendess pain.  
Spasms ran up the skin, then back down through  
the muscles. She could feel the begining of a  
charlie horse.

Gritting her jaw, her breath stopped. Her mind  
went blank except for the pain. Everything zeroed  
in on it. Her leg became stone, froze in time.

She wanted to scream herself raw. To tear her  
throat to pieces. To claw her nails to bloody  
jags. To do anything to relieve just a tiny bit  
of the god awful agony she was in, but she  
couldn't do anything but be.

Then it was over, and she could breath again.  
Her leg was flesh, and it hurt worse than ever.  
It had a tenderness to it. Like if she stretched  
it wrong a new, far worse blood clot would come  
to life.

Wearily, and with great worry, she sat up.  
Unwrapping herself from the various sheets and  
quilts to get to her left leg. Willow slowly,  
pulled it up so she could see the thick gauze  
tightly covering her calf from her ankle to her  
knee.

The reason she had been develving into Rack's  
relm until Dawn had gotten hurt. The reason she  
had gotten so deep into the dark magic's. The  
real reason she had taken Tara's memory and let  
her find the evidence.

Reaching over for the small first aid kit on  
the side table, and grabbed the scissors. With  
unsteady hands, she cut the gauze from her leg.  
Pealing the clinging material away, and dropping  
it on the bed.

Willow stared at the left side of her calf  
solemnly. Two months ago, she had gotten a small  
half inch long cut. A shard of glass had cut her,  
no biggie. Except it hadn't healed.

It had been the first clue.

Then the blood in the cut had changed color.  
Instead of red, she'd noticed it was a dark  
green, almost black.

The second clue.

After that the edges of the cut had started to  
wilt, and contort. Peeling, bubbling. Becoming  
increasing painful for her.

The third clue.

Glory. Or at least, a left over price from Glory.

When she'd researched a way to restore Tara's mind,  
she'd found it, but there was consequences. Major  
consequences. Extremely major consequences.

One's Giles would have no doubt found, if they  
hadn't been on the run, and he hadn't been  
injured. But in the end, they had been, and  
afterwards, it hadn't mattered.

Willow...

Willow had read the fine print. She had read it  
and understood exactly what it meant.

To release Tara's mind had required the use of  
certain forbidden magic's. More specificly it  
required Willow to tap into Glory's divine magic  
and channel it. A major no no to any and all  
mortal's.

Willow had been very careful not to touch Tara  
with any of Glory's magic, so her ex was safe,  
but she couldn't say the same for herself. Her  
own body was paying the price for two things  
using forbidden magic and channeling divine  
magic.

Add in a dark magic addiction and the jollys  
just kept coming.

She glanced down at her leg and griamnced.

It was completely ravaged from knee to toes.  
There was nothing left to save. Stretching it  
out carefully, she closed her eyes to the sight.

Veneficium Laceratio.

Magical Cancer.

The price of saving Tara, a price she would  
gladly pay a million times.

But she was dying. Slowly, painfully.

She had researched online and at the the Magic  
Box. Searching for some cure. Some hope. She had  
gone to Amy, and Rack.

Used dark magic to hold it off as long as possible,  
but it was over.

She slumped back into the bed, opening her eyes  
to stare at what was left of her calf. It was  
time to leave Sunnydale. To find someplace where  
she could die without Tara and the Scoobies would  
never have to know the truth.

The only question was where.

00000

Tara froze with the coffee cup partway to her  
mouth. A shiver of foreboding ran down her spine.  
The porceline cup in her hand suddenly cracking  
down the center. The steaming liquid poured out  
onto the table between her and Dawn.

" Okay, that was woogie. " Dawn shook her body  
out. " I swear someone just walked over my grave. "

" You felt it too? " Tara demanded sharply.

" Yeah, big time. " Dawn agreed.

She grabbed several napkins and started mopping  
up her coffee. All the while her mind wondered  
back to her feelings of forboding.

' Willow. '

Something was wrong with Willow.

A loud crash came from the back of the  
resturant. The two females jumped to their feet.  
A waiter behind the counter was blushing bright  
red, holding an empty tray. On the floor was  
a pile of broken dishes.

" Let's go. " Tara pulled out her wallet, and  
threw a wad of bills on the table, not bothering  
to count the money.

They hurried onto the sidewalk and toward the  
Summer's house. Tara knew Willow had been having  
a rough time since she'd given up magic. Dawn and  
Buffy wouldn't discuss it with her. At least not  
in detail.

However, she'd seen Willow around campus, and it  
wasn't pretty. The red head had lost a lot of  
weight. Too much weight. Her clothes were hanging  
on her.

She could just imagine how bad it was.

Tara broke into a jog as the house came into  
view. She pushed front door open, pausing at  
the dark house which greeted her.

" Willow?! " She called out.

Dawn darted up the stairs and she followed.  
Willow's bedroom was wide open, the lights  
blazing. She could see the wardrobe open,  
draws scattered, Will's laptop was also  
missing.

" There's a note. " Dawn frowned. " Why's there  
a note? "

Tara took it.

Dear Gang,  
I'm tired of the good fight.  
It's time I move on to greener pastors.  
Do what you want with my stuff I won't  
be back for it. Have a good life.

Willow.

And her world shattered.

11111  
Chapter One  
11111

Willow kneeled in the musty crypt. The flashlight  
barely giving her enough light to see the symbols  
engraved in the dirt. The smell of blood, fear,  
and death hung thick in the air.

The body of the witch lay out in the middle of  
the pentagram of blood. Her black hair matted  
with her own vomit and blood. The once black  
skin now ashen.

The red head finally stood up and backed away.  
The witch tucked her flashlight under her arm,  
and pulled out her digital camera, taking several  
shots. Making sure to get close ups of each symbol.  
Each wound made on the body.

Just like she'd done at the dozen other murders.  
Just like she'd do at the next murder, and the  
murder after it.

' Not dead yet. ' She snorted.

She had left good old SunnyD a year earlier to  
die. Willow had bought a ticket to New Orleans  
where she expected to die, and instead her life  
had hit the proverbal fan.

The red head had tripped over a cantankorous old  
voodoo witch doctor. Literally. She had gone head  
over ass over the old lady. Bags flying everywhere.

The little old lady had taken one look at her and  
known everything. From the Glory on. Before Willow  
could say a word Granny Maple had herded her back  
to her home and kept her.

And that little old Witch Doctor had done the  
impossible. She'd cured Willow. But it hadn't  
been overnight, and it hadn't been easy.

There had been many days when Willow had wanted  
to give up and die instead. Many nights were she  
had wanted to just take the easy way out, but she  
had solidered through it.

She ran her hand threw her jaw length red hair.  
After suffering the heat of New Orleans she'd cut  
it short, chosening a heavily layered look instead.

Sacrifice the limb to save the tree.

They'd found a way to direct the cancer to her  
left calf and confine it. Thankfully Granny Maple  
was able to remove the calf herself.

It had left the damage done to Willow's body  
though. The cancer, the forbidden magic, and  
addiction had left her body a wreck. On the verge  
of death.

It had taken months of treatment to rebuild it.  
Months of not only medicine, and treatment, but  
magical rehibilitation.

Of course, not dying sort of put a damper on her  
carefully scripted plans.

Granny Maple had been all for Willow going back  
home to Tara and the Scoobies. Something Willow  
had been considering, but then...

Her eyes darkened remembering the last time she'd  
seen the cackling old woman. The corners of her  
mouth tightened and she slowly limped out of the  
crypt into the early morning fog.

Ninety eight years old or not, it would have taken  
someone extremely powerful to capture and sacrifice  
Granny Maple. The power level would have to be  
on a level of field close to Glory.

Willow had found Granny just minutes after her  
death. Yet whoever was behind the murders had  
completed the sacrifice while hiding their  
signature and power level.

It was the same at every sight. She knew for a  
fact because she had been on their tail for the  
last four months. Missing them by hours every time.

She tapped her flashlight against her thigh. Her  
options were running out and fast. What she did  
know was whoever was behind this was playing with  
her.

Willow began to limp from the graveyard to her  
car. She'd hit Sunnydale less than three  
hours ago. From what she had figured, the killer  
was going to concentrating on the town for a  
while.

The last thing she needed, or wanted.

But after J. Doe had killed Granny Maple, she'd  
sworn to stop the killer, and she would.

No matter what.

11111

Willow absently tried to balance her large,  
overflowing cup of Mocha with her left hand,  
read from the six subject notebook in her right  
hand, and keep from dropping the bag with her  
cheese danish clenched between her teeth.

All while walking down the sidewalk of Sunnydales  
Main Street at Seven in the morning.

Her small oval shaped sunglasses slide down her  
nose. The emerald colored lens revealing the milky  
film covering her eyes. Making her once emerald  
eyes an aquamarine.

She huffed around her danish, using her Mocha to  
shove her sunglasses back up, and continued on  
her way.

' It has hints of ancient Greek... '

A hand dropped on her shoulder, and she tensed.

' Damn it, I know better than to drop my guard. '

" Will? "

' Double damn. ' She cursed.

Glancing back, she blinked at the sight of the  
slayer. The blonde had let her hair grow back  
out to it's old style. She had also regained  
her old spark for life.

" You're back. " Buffy smiled, drawing her into  
a hug.

Willow barely managed to save her breakfast and  
research from the fearsome slayer hug. Grabbing  
the bag of danish between two fingers, and holding  
her arms way out.

" When did you get here? Where were you? Why did  
you leave? " Buffy babbled.

" Um, hi to you to. " Willow smiled slightly.  
" I got in this morning, and I was trying to  
have breakfast before a certain blonde accosted  
me. "

" That so wasn't what I meant and you know it. "  
Buffy slapped her arm lightly.

" What are you doing out this early? " Willow  
asked, resuming her walk down the sidewalk.

-  
To Be Continued 


End file.
